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Sunday, June 15, 2014

C-Slide Review

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Over the years since webcams became standard on laptops, I have been hearing a lot of about computers being hacked and webcams being activated, or webcam spying. One report was even that a school was remotely activating the webcams of their students to check up on them. In my mind, that is no way ok.

I've wondered in the past what I could do to protect myself and my family from this kind of attack. In theory a good firewall "should" protect exploiting through your capture devices (such as your webcam, your microphone, and keyboard), but what happens if that fails? What was recommended to me by a network security professional, is to use defense in depth. Instead of relying solely on a firewall or turning off the firewall you should implement multiple practices to prevent your webcam from being exploited.

For webcams, the best defense is to cover your webcam. I've known people in the past who just put a piece of tape over the webcam on their laptop. But I think that could be rather annoying and looks kind of tacky. And it makes it difficult to use the webcam on your computer, since you have to reapply the tape every time, and it leaves a sticky residue behind. Recently, I was made aware that some companies are making covers for webcams that can easily slide or lift open. C-Slide is one such company.

I really like to C-Slide because you only have to apply it once. On the back of the C-Slide, there is two very thin strips of double stick tape. So if you decide to take it off for some reason, there won't be a HUGE sticky mess.

Another thing that I like about the C-Slide is that is made out of thin, yet durable, plastic. At 1.5mm thick, you know that it won't get in the way of your computer closing and latching closed.

Opening and closing the C-slide is easy too. Since it is so thin, it doesn't take much just to move the little piece of plastic over.

Over all, I really like to C-slide, and I believe that it would be a great addition to your digital security practices.

If you would like to purchase a C-Slide for your computer, just click this link http://www.c-slide.com/product-page/, scroll down a bit, and shop away.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.